Maybe Lima's Not That Bad
by TheFeelsAreStrongInThisOne
Summary: When you found out that you're moving to Lima from New York, you never thought you'd meet all of the amazing people and oh, right, the love of your life. Maybe Lima's not all that bad after all. AU. Rachel's point of view.
1. Maybe Lima's Not That Bad

_**AN: Hello guys! **__**Anyway, I won't stall, but please, **__**read the AN at the end of the fic.**__** And if you like this, don't be shy and leave a **__**review**__**. Okay, I'm done. On with the story! :)**_

_**AN2: yes I know I told you I wouldn't ramble but I just wanted to say that there are some quotes that I have written down that may be from Tumblr, so if you know the person who wrote them, feel free to tell me so I could credit them. Also, I have a Tumblr, and the link is on my profile, so if you want to you can follow me :)**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own them.**_

* * *

You never thought life worked this way.

When your fathers told you that they wanted to move, you were hoping they'd mean into another neighbourhood...not into a whole new town miles and miles away from home. And home was New York City. The bright lights and the busy streets of NYC kept you on your toes for the first sixteen years of your life. Your days went by fast, because that's just how NYC is – if you don't move along with it, you get left behind in the dust.

So when you were told that you were supposed to move to _Lima,_ of all places on this planet, you only blinked. Once, twice and then you started laughing. You waited for the punch line of the joke, for your daddy to crack up and your dad to say "psyche!" while laughing his boisterous belly laugh. But it didn't come. So when you calmed down, it hit you: they're not joking. You're moving away, far from your cosy apartment and all of your friends and away from your school and that awesome little Thai place two blocks away from your house and away from Mrs Hunter and all of her cats who lives next door and away from your favourite coffee place and that awesome music shop and away from _everything_.

And then you simply stared.

Gradually, you started to accept the fact that there was nothing you could do to stop this so you just...went with the flow. Your fathers seemed to accept your I-don't-give-a-single-fuck attitude towards the move and they never tried to incorporate you in the plans, after you simply walked away after they asked you once if they should buy new furniture for the living room or just bring the one you had.

The move was, simply put, tedious. After it was all done, your fathers told you that you were supposed to go to McKinley High to start your junior year. You simply nodded and went to your room, put in your headphones and ignored the world for a few hours.

That brings you back to the present, in which you're standing on the parking lot of William McKinley High School, looking up at the building looming over you.

You rub your hands onto your jeans and shoulder your messenger bag. Staring at the red double door of the school, you take a breath and then enter the school. Almost instantly, you're hit with the sounds of students chattering and laughing as they walk the corridors of the school.

Moving your sunglasses a bit up on your nose, you start walking towards your locker, or at least where you hope your locker is. You do a double take when you pass a student drenched in what seems to be lemon flavoured slushy. You know it's for real when you see several jocks laughing and holding an empty Big Gulp cup. You groan. So this is that kind of school – cheerleaders and jocks on top, everyone else on the bottom. Moving a little bit faster, you quickly reach your locker and take out a slip of paper containing your locker combination.

Turning the dial, you try to open the metal door but it won't move. Groaning, you try one more time but it won't budge.

Someone taps your shoulder and you turn around to see a tall Asian guy with a friendly smile looking at you in amusement.

"Do you need help?" He asks and you reluctantly nod. He grins and then moves to your locker. He takes the slip of paper from you and turns the dial the right way before pushing the door slightly and it pops open.

"You need to push it sometimes because it won't open otherwise." He says and you thank him.

"I'm Mike Chang, but I don't know you, you must be new here." Mike says and you nod as you put away some textbooks and notebooks.

"Yep, just moved here from New York. I'm Rachel Berry." You say and he whistles.

"NYC? What's a girl from New York doing in this hellhole?" He asks and you shrug your shoulders.

"My dads wanted a change of environment." You say and Mike looks at you incredulously. "Dads? As in plural?" He asks and you put your guard up. "Yep. That's not going to be a problem, is it?" You raise a challenging eyebrow. Mike shakes his head and raises his arms in surrender.

"Nah, just the first time that's happened in Lima."

"So, what's your first class?" He asks and you check your timetable.

"It's Spanish III with someone called... William Schuester?" You ask and he nods.

"Awesome, we have first period together. But a word of advice, foreign languages aren't really a priority in this school, so we probably won't even do anything for the rest of the year. Besides, everyone knows Mr Schue's interests lie with Glee club." Mike says and you raise an eyebrow, starting to walk towards your classroom. He follows.

"Glee club?" You say and Mike nods, a smile overtaking his face.

"Yep. Everyone who joins becomes a loser, though, so it's not very popular." He says and you can almost imagine the look on your face when he says that.

"A loser?" You ask and he nods once more.

"Mhm, and losers get slushied or thrown into dumpsters and port-a-potties so that's kind of bad." Your jaw drops.

"Slushied? Thrown into dumpsters? What the hell is the principal doing, and why doesn't the school council know about this?" You say, and Mike just shakes his head.

"Principal Figgins is the cheapest principal this school's ever seen. All he cares about is money, and Cheerios – those are the cheerleaders – and the sport teams can bring it to the school because of all the competitions, so what they do to other students is irrelevant as long as the money keeps coming. Basically, if you're not a cheerleader or a jock, you're nobody, and no one cares what happens to you." Mike explains and you bristle.

"What...? How...? What the hell are the students' parents doing? Their kids are being bullied and no one is moving a finger!" You say and Mike almost laughs.

"That would be Sue Sylvester's doing. She's the Coach of the Cheerios, and most of the students think that woman is a robot or something, because she has never shown any emotion whatsoever. If anyone touches her Cheerios, though, she is out for blood. So parents stopped reporting it once they saw what she's capable of." He shakes his head. "That's just how things work around here. It's been like that for the last ten years, and it sure as hell isn't changing any time soon." He says as you enter the classroom. You're still trying to wrap your head around everything when he guides you to the back row and takes a seat.

True to Mike's word, Mr Schue enters late into classroom, spends the first twenty minutes teaching the things you learned when you were a freshman in NYC, and then gradually starts talking about Glee club.

You're sighing in relief when the bell finally rings and you and Mike quickly get up and get out of the classroom as fast as you can.

"Told you so." Mike says and you laugh.

* * *

It's the end of the school day and you just want to go home when you hear a distant piano melody. It's coming from the auditorium and you're just too curious for your own good, so you quietly sneak into the auditorium from the back, hiding backstage so as not to disturb the person playing.

Slowly placing your messenger bag onto the floor, you move towards the edge of the curtains, your black Chucks making almost no noise as you practically tip-toe towards the stage.

Your head slowly pops up from behind the curtain and you hope that intake of breath wasn't as loud as it sounded to you because you've just seen the most beautiful creature that ever graced this planet. The person sitting behind the sleek black Baldwin piano is a girl, around your age. She's wearing a white summer dress and her golden blonde hair is tied in an intricate braid. She's turned sideways to you, but her eyes are closed so she can't see you and you're free to look at her for as long as you can. She has black glasses on her face and she seems so very relaxed, sitting on the piano stool, letting her fingers dance across the ivory keys, drawing out tones and organizing them into a chaotic perfection.

The song itself is incredibly _sad_. You can feel it pounding through your ears even though it's not all that loud, brushing past all of your walls and hitting something deep inside, evoking a feeling of deep melancholy within you. The girl's fingers are moving swiftly, hitting the exact notes so that each tone feels like a physical blow, making hair stand up on the back of your neck. You're entranced as you watch this girl play, eyes screwed shut in concentration, a relaxed but still somewhat sad expression on her face as she plays and plays and plays...

It takes your breath away.

_She_ takes your breath away.

You don't even notice when you plop down on the floor, legs crossed. All you know is that she is playing and that you could listen to it all day. A few tears fall from your eyes as the haunting melody hits you with full force.

With a few slow notes, the song ends and the girl takes her fingers off the keys, head bowed. You don't know who this girl is, nor why she is sad and why she needs to expel her emotions like this, but you know that if you don't leave now, you'll probably do something stupid like go out there and hug her. So you pick your stuff up, wipe the tears that fell and try to quietly leave the auditorium. Unfortunately for you, you inherited your Dad's clumsiness, so you accidentally stumble on something in the dark as you try to exit the way you came. You silently curse when you feel the screech of the piano stool on the floor.

"Hello?" A smooth alto voice says from the stage and you know that the girl's moving towards you, so you run the last few feet to the door and hastily exit, running through the corridor and out into the parking lot. Once you reach your car, you take your keys out and quickly enter. Taking a few seconds to collect yourself, you turn on the ignition and pull out of the lot, driving back to your house. On your way there, the pianist won't get out of your mind. Every time you blink, you see her sitting at that piano, pouring her thoughts and emotions into notes and chords – a picture of beauty and grace.

This girl is a mystery - a puzzle that you want to solve. You hope you'll get the chance to do so.

* * *

You return to the auditorium tomorrow after classes.

You just can't stop thinking about the girl. Every time you caught a glimpse of golden blonde hair in the hallways, you couldn't stop the hopeful smile from growing on your face, only for it to fall when you see it's not her.

You wait a bit and then there she is again. In dark jeans, white tee shirt with a colour splat print and a dark blue beanie, she looks as beautiful as she did yesterday.

Again, she sits at the piano, and then she starts playing. It's a different piece, but it's still hauntingly beautiful. Not as sad as yesterday, but it's still making you _feel_ the emotion she tries to convey into song.

After she's done, you briefly consider talking to her, but then you shake your head and exit the auditorium.

* * *

This continues for a few days.

You stay after classes and sneak into the auditorium from the back, and the girl is always there, playing one song after another. Some of them you recognize, some of them you don't. You then sneak away the way you came, and go home, the girl not leaving your thoughts, haunting your dreams.

It's not until Thursday of your second week of high school when Mike invites you to Glee practice to watch that you finally come face to face with the beautiful pianist.

You agree to come with him to practice, expecting to be the first ones in the choir room. Instead, as you two get closer to the choir room, you start to hear the sounds of muffled singing, laughing and a guitar melody. Mike grins and opens the door and you see the entire club dancing freely on the risers, laughing and singing together.

A boy with a Mohawk is playing the guitar and a tall, goofy looking guy is sitting at the drums and playing a wicked beat which you recognize as "Ride Wit Me" by Nelly. A guy in a wheelchair is riding a Goth Asian girl on his lap, both singing along with the other kids. A black girl is belting out notes with a feminine looking boy beside her, and two cheerleaders, one Latina and one blonde, dancing together and joking around.

And then you see her.

Dancing to the beat and smiling behind the guy with the Mohawk is the pianist you've been seeing for the last week and a half. She looks positively radiant as she sings along with the rest of the club. Mike goes along and joins the club in dancing and singing, and you stay at the door, staring at the girl.

Finally, after the song ends, you move and stand quietly next to Mike, who only then seems to remember that you're there.

"Oh, sorry Rach, I forgot to introduce you. Everyone, this is Rachel." He says and there are multiple voices saying hello at the same time. You stand there while everyone walks toward you. The feminine guy is first.

"Hello Rachel, I'm Kurt Hummel, I'm the resident fashion king, so if you need any help with your outfits, don't hesitate to call me." He says and you grin and nod, shaking his head.

Next is the blue-eyed blonde Cheerleader. "Hi, I'm Brittany S. Pierce, and this is my girlfriend Santana." She says, shaking your hand, with her other one still in the scowling Latina's hand. You nod and carefully extract your hand from hers, mindful of the fact that Santana's still watching.

"Nice to meet you Brittany, you too Santana."

Everyone goes and introduces themselves, from Puck to Finn to Mercedes, and _she_ goes last. Slowly walking down the risers she approaches you and extends a hand, smiling at you.

"I'm Quinn, Quinn Fabray." She says and you take her hand and shake it. It's just then that you notice how beautiful her eyes are. When she plays, they're always closed, but now you're close enough to admire the beautiful hazel greens with specks of burning amber.

"I'm Rachel Berry; it's very nice to meet you." You respond and she nods, letting her hand fall to her side. At that moment, Mr Schue enters. He looks hopeful when he sees you.

"Hello, Miss Berry. Are you here to audition?" He asks and you hate to remove the hopeful look off his face.

"No, Mr Schue, I'm only here because Mike asked me to." He nods with a disappointed look and then tells everyone to take their seats. You and Mike sit in the last row, as you usually do, and Quinn sits in the row in front of you, next to Brittany and Santana, who are practically attached at the hip, what with how close they're sitting.

The practice goes by quickly. It's mostly everyone performing some songs for this week's assignment, "friendship". You can't help but scoff as you read the words written sloppily in black marker on the white board. There isn't a more cliché theme than this, except maybe love or something as cheesy as that. Judging by Mike's bored look and a scoff, he agrees with you on this.

Most of the practice you spend looking at Quinn, especially when she, Santana and Brittany get up from the risers and perform a stunning version of 'Good Time' by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen, hugging at the end and laughing joyfully.

When the practice ends, Mike walks you to your car and you set up a time for a movie marathon, since he overheard you talking to Sam Evans earlier today, talking about how Star Wars is one of the best movies ever made.

Once you arrive home, you greet your fathers and go up to your room, fully intending on doing your Math homework. However, your attention goes to your laptop quickly, and you end up on Facebook. Your heart does this funny jolt when you see that you have a friend request from one _Quinn Fabray_.

You never hit _accept_ that fast in your entire life.

(You won't admit the fact that you checked your Facebook at least twice every five minutes for an hour after that.)

* * *

You still listen to Quinn play piano every day after class. Nothing changes – you still stay backstage, she still plays melodies that ring in your ears long after she's done with them, and you still think about her every waking second of your day.

* * *

It's a sunny Tuesday morning when you walk into the school wearing dark jeans, black chucks and a Fall Out Boy tee shirt with your messenger bag slung over your shoulder when you see a crowd gathered further down the corridor. Curious, you walk a little faster and push your way to the edge of the circle that's gathered and your eyes widen when you see what's happening.

Two rather large jocks are surrounding Quinn who's staring defiantly into their eyes, and one of them has a Big Gulp in his hand. The positively vile grins on their faces make you shudder because the evil joy on their faces is plain as day.

"...no Lopez or Puckerman to protect you now, Fabray, and after last year, you deserve what you're going to get." The larger one, you think his name is Karofsky or something like that, says. You bristle at the tone he uses.

"Bring it on Karofsky, but don't think for a second I'll just stand by and let you walk over me. And I don't need Santana or Puck to protect me; I can do that all by myself." Quinn retorts and the crowd gasps as one as she stands up to Karofsky – something that hasn't been done in, well, never.

You see Karofsky's cheeks gain colour from anger and his buddy lays a hand on his shoulder to stop him from hitting Quinn. That seemingly calms him down but he still moves his hand that's holding the slushy.

Dropping your messenger bag, you move faster than you've ever moved and before he can dump the slushy all over Quinn, you hit the bottom of the cup and the ice beverage flies into his face. His yell of surprise echoes over the silent corridor. His buddy stands on the side with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Quinn's gasp of surprise is somehow the sound that you hear the loudest.

You stare defiantly into Karofsky's slushy-covered face as he wipes his eyes, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist, trying to contain himself.

"You think you're so tough, slushying someone half of your size? Think again, fuckwit." You say and stand protectively in front of Quinn. Karofsky takes a step in your direction and raises a hand as if he's going to hit you. You steel yourself, waiting for the punch but then Mr Schue's finally pushed through the crowd and just as Karofsky's fist flies towards your face, the Spanish teacher grabs it a second before it connects with your nose.

"David, David, calm down!" He yells and Karofsky deflates. "Go to your classrooms! There's nothing to see here." Mr Schue yells and the crowd dissipates. The only ones left are Quinn, you, Mr Schue and Karofsky, standing in a bright red puddle of a slowly melting slush.

"David, go clean up. Rachel, Quinn, go to class." You start to protest as soon as Mr Schue is done speaking, but he silences you with a look. He goes with David to make sure and then he goes back to his classroom. You stand there, fuming until you feel a tap on the shoulder.

You turn around and most of the anger dissipates when you take in a thankful looking Quinn.

"I, um... thanks for that." She says and you nod, a smile overtaking your lips. "I mean I could've handled it, but thanks anyway." She says and you laugh. There's a comfortable silence where you just look at the classroom Mr Schue went into.

"Well, screw this. I'm skipping." You say and start walking. After you don't hear her following, you pause and turn around.

"You coming?" She shakes her head with a smile, but walks towards you.

"So, Berry, where are we going?" Quinn asks after you walk out of the school. You shrug.

"Wherever you want. I was just going to drive around for a while to cool down, but anywhere's good." You say and she smiles.

"Awesome. I know this cute little coffee place nearby. We can walk if you want to?" She says and you nod in confirmation. She falls into step with you as you walk out of the parking lot.

"So, um, what was that back there?" You say after about a minute of silence. She tenses.

"Nothing. Those morons are just trying to step up to the roles of owning the schools. Idiots." Quinn says and you can clearly see she's not comfortable with talking about it, so you let it slide.

"I completely agree. I mean, seriously, if assholes could fly that place would be a damn airport." You say and Quinn breaks into laughter.

"Oh God, that's the best description of McKinley I've ever heard." She says once she's calmed down. You shrug with a smirk on your face.

Two minutes later, you're in this cosy coffee shop with a cup of the best damn coffee you've drank in your short life.

You're sitting in comfortable silence (again) when Quinn accidentally places her cup of coffee back on the table with a little more force than she meant to. It makes a loud noise and you huff.

"That is _mahogany_!" You say and Quinn stares at you for a second before breaking out into a grin.

"Hunger Games, really?" She says and you shrug with a smile.

And that's the start of your friendship with one Quinn Fabray.

* * *

You start hanging out more and more. The first time you bring Quinn over, your fathers fawn over her for half an hour before finally letting you two go into your room so she could help you with Math (it was never your thing).

It doesn't happen over a day, though. It goes slowly and develops gradually, until one snowy day in December you realise that you can't imagine your life without Quinn's quirky texts or her weird (awesome) music or random photographs she sends you via Facebook that she takes herself. Your days are filled with random outings to coffee shops and walks in the park and long drives to the outskirts of the town and random movie nights and cooking adventures and every single time you feel as if this was always meant to happen.

You tell her that you were that person at the beginning of the school year that listened to her playing the piano. And that you were the person returning for weeks after that. She smiles slyly at you and raises an eyebrow.

"You really thought I didn't know that?" Is the only thing she says in response.

Your friendship is weird, but you two balance each other out. She stops you from being too rash in some important decisions, and you bring her out of her shell a little. The amount of walls that girl has around her heart is stunning. You wonder what she went through that would cause that many defence mechanisms.

You find out on a snowy December night, three days before Christmas.

You're lying on the couch, watching _Home Alone_ when she speaks out of the blue.

"I had a baby." You do a double take and choke on your popcorn when she says it with a straight face. That barb-wired, electric fence around her heart is up and running in full power. Once you get your breathing under control, you turn around to face her.

"Can you please repeat that?" You ask and she sighs.

"I had a baby last year." She says slowly, as if afraid of your reaction. You take a moment to let that sink in. "Oh honey." You say and then you hug her. You can feel her starting to shake as powerful sobs wreck her body. You let her crumble on your shoulder, while you rub her back comfortingly and mumble comforting words into her ear. You'll be there to pick up the pieces and put her back together.

Once the crying subsides, she draws back and even in tears, she's beautiful.

"Do you want to talk about it?" You ask and she manages a small smile. You let her take this at her own pace, not talking until she speaks.

"Her name is Beth. She's about eight months old now. I-I gave her away. My parents kicked me out when they found out. And the worst thing is - it was all a drunken mistake. One stupid, idiotic mistake that cost me my family." She says and you take her hand, squeezing it for a second to give her support.

"I-I was feeling...insecure about my, um...body, so when Puck convinced me that taking a few vine coolers in his room would take the edge off, I stupidly accepted." Quinn mumbles, and you know that, no matter how hard she tries to convince herself, her feeling insecure about her body wasn't the real reason for that night. Still, you stay silent, only squeezing her hand to show that you're listening.

"When he started kissing me, I was already halfway drunk and I simply wanted to not care for one night, so I let him. And three months after that, my parents found out. They kicked me out." She says and starts crying again. You try to take all the information in, but it takes a while.

"Anyway, after that, everything went to hell. I broke up with Finn, who found out I cheated on him, I was kicked off the Cheerios, I lost my friends...I was at the lowest point of my life. I was staying with my Mercedes because Puck didn't give a shit about me; he only wanted to have sex. I thought that God had even given up on me. I was...so mad. Mad at Puck, mad at myself, mad at my mother, for letting my father disown me...Mad at a lot of people.

"I was mad at Beth too, even though she wasn't even born and wasn't guilty of anything. So I thought giving her up was the right thing to do. But when I gave birth to her...those moments when I held her in my arms for the first and last time... It was the single most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." She takes a deep breath and continues. "But I still gave her up. My mother showed up the day after that and told me that she and my father divorced. She took me back in, and she's trying to be better, she really is." Quinn stays silent for a moment.

"But I can never talk to her about Beth because she always starts apologizing and I...I just want a clear slate, to start over." Quinn sighs and you hug her again.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I don't judge you for any of it. Yes, it was a mistake for sleeping with Puck, but I think you've beat yourself up enough over it. And I hope that you know that if you have anything bothering you, I'm here to talk. No matter what time of the day, okay?" You say and she smiles a watery smile before she snuggles back into you.

"Thank you, Rach. You have no idea how much that means to me." Quinn says and you nod, reassuringly rubbing her back.

"How about that movie, yeah? I think Kevin's about to prepare the traps." She says after a while and you know that this is about as far as she wants to go tonight.

You're okay with it. You'll be here if she ever wants to go further.

* * *

It's April when you realise it.

You're sitting in the park on one of the benches and Quinn's a few feet away, holding up her camera for the perfect shot of...whatever she's taking a photo of now. You're looking at her, in her jeans, shirt and beanie, and those adorable glasses of hers and the sunlight's hitting her _juuuust right_ and it hits you.

You're in love with her.

You take a deep breath as if you've been swimming underneath the surface for a long time and just now you're floating up until finally you're hitting the surface and taking a deep breath.

You're so stupid for not figuring it out before.

Your hand chases hers after she pulls away, you always linger in hugs, you drop everything you're doing to get to her if she needs you. You always pay for her; you pull out her chair and hold the door for her... You've been acting like you're dating for a long time.

Everything comes into place and it feels...freeing.

(It also now makes sense why you wanted to beat up Puckerman whenever he made a lecherous comment, and Finn too, whenever he tried to chat Quinn up.)

But then you see that little silver cross dangling around her neck on a thin silver chain and you know that the possibility of her returning your feelings is slim to none. And she has so much more to lose than you – her mother, her home, her church...

It's a sobering thought.

* * *

Thank God for Santana.

Well, that's a sentence you never thought you'd say.

One second you're taking to Mike about the new Assassin's Creed game and the next one you're being dragged into the girls' bathroom.

"Whoa, Santana, if you wanted me to yourself, you could've just asked." You joke and she scoffs.

"As if, Dwarf." Ouch, that one hurts.

"Well, what do you want?" You ask after she just stands there with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She rolls her eyes.

"Look, I know that you're afraid that Q's gonna bail when you admit your rainbow feelings for her but hurry it up a bit, will you? I've got a bet goin' on, and if you don't do it in the next two weeks I'mma lose me fifty bucks. And I hate losing." She says and your jaw falls open and your eyebrows practically disappear in your hairline.

"You...she...bet...what?" You stutter out and Santana rolls her eyes.

"Keep up Hobbit!" She barks. "Hurry up and smooch Q or I'mma cut a bitch."

"But...but...she's not even gay, and I'm not about to ruin everything with her just 'cause..." Santana's scoff makes you halt in your ramblings.

"You _do_ realise that my girl Quinn is gayer than a rainbow purse with glitter?" Your mouth falls open.

"Ay Dios mio, stop channelling Finncompetent's dumbness, it doesn't suit you." She snaps with a frown. Your mouth snaps closed. "Quinn's about as gay as they come, Hobbity Elf. She listens to _Tegan and Sara_, for fuck's sake, if that's not enough of a clue, I don't know what is."

"Santana! Stereotyping gay teenagers in no way helps them-"

"Yeah, yeah, write a letter." Santana brushes you off. "The point is that you two making googly eyes at each other from a distance makes me want to vomit, and I like to keep my lunch in my stomach. So go ahead and seduce her or woo her or whatever it is you losers need to do to start macking on each other." She says, acting completely uninterested as she blows at her nails and then wipes them on her Cheerio top.

"But what about her mother? Isn't she like some kind of homophobic bitch, what with the whole kicking her out thing?" You ask and Santana actually looks at you like you're Finn.

"Seriously, Berry, did you start taking brain cell killers? 'Cause I didn't think you're that stupid. Her _father_ was the homophobic one; Judy's actually okay with it. If she wasn't, she would've forbidden Q from hanging out with you a long time ago." Santana pauses. "Actually, I think I remember that time when Judy told us about how she experimented in college or some shit." You both cringe.

"Anyway, stop making excuses for being a pussy. Now man up and go do seduce Fabgay with something that'll make her panties hit the floor so hard they'll end up in China." Santana deadpans.

Then she brushes past you and exits the bathroom. A second later, she pops back in.

"Oh and for the record, if you hurt her, I'mma ends you."

And then she walks away.

Well, that conversation was...enlightening.

* * *

**_AN: And that's chapter one. Chapter two coming up! Oh and please review if you liked this :)_**


	2. But It Sure Is Better When I'm With You

_**AN: So here's part two of this two shot. And a little reminder, please **__**read the AN at the end of the story.**_

_**Disclaimer: still don't own them.**_

* * *

Despite Santana's little confrontation in the bathroom, it takes you a bit more than two weeks to do something about your (not so) little crush on Quinn. You forgot all about the bet she mentioned so when you walked into the school about two weeks later, you were surprised and a little afraid to see the angry Latina waiting by your locker with her arms crossed.

"Whoa, who lit the fuse on your tampon?" You ask when you reach your locker and she scowls at you.

"Remind me RuPaul, what did I say to you about, I don't know, two weeks ago?" She says, moving closer to you, looking you threateningly in the eyes. You raise an eyebrow.

"To get together with Quinn?" You ask and she nods.

"Well done, you've proved to have more than two brain cells. And why did I say two weeks?" She asks and you sigh.

"Some bet or some shit." You say and put your books in your locker before slamming it shut. "Look Santana, you've probably lost your money or something, but I am not going to run into something head first, especially not something as important as a relationship between Quinn and I just because you put some money on it. She's too important to me to screw this up. So get lost." You say and she stands there dumbfounded for a minute. Then she smirks and nods.

"Well, who would've thought? Little Hobbit has some lady balls. I approve." Santana snickers and walks away.

Mike meets you about a minute later, and you walk towards the classroom for Spanish III. You take a seat in the back, as you normally do, and a few minutes later the speakers ring with static before the Principal's voice comes through, his thick accent showing even more.

"Students of McKinley, this is a reminder not to eat the meatballs from the cafeteria. If you have, please report to the nurse. That is all, and may the grades be ever in your favour." He says, static rings out once more and then it's silent.

You and Mike look at each other with wide eyes.

"Oh my freaking God, did he just...?" Mike asks and you nod, wide-eyed. "Yep. Well, this class is so boring I'm tempted to scream 'I volunteer!" and just run out of the classroom." You say and you both laugh.

"So how are things going with Quinn?" Mike asks and you raise an eyebrow.

"Does everyone know about my crush on Quinn?" You ask and he nods. "Well, except for Quinn, of course." He says and you roll your eyes.

"Are you going to seduce her with your awesome guitar skills?" He asks and you snicker.

"Nah, too cliché. I'll just figure something out." You retort and he nods.

"If you need help with anything, I'm here."

You hope you'll figure something out soon.

* * *

It's the last week of school, and it's too damn hot in the classrooms – they're basically hell with fluorescent lighting – so you pull Quinn aside one day and ask her if she wants to skip.

She bites her lip and you almost miss her answer because of it.

"You are a bad influence on me, Berry." She says with a smirk and you grin.

"You know it." She shoves your shoulder lightly and laughs. "Okay, let's skip."

Unbeknownst to you two, Kurt, Brittany and Santana are watching you two from the gym with excited eyes.

"Finally!" Santana says and Brittany nods.

Kurt squeals and claps his hands. "Oh my Gucci, they're skipping. Together! Oh, I can already hear the wedding bells. Their babies will be the most beautiful babies ever." He says and Santana looks at him with a raised eyebrow, while Brittany nods seriously.

"Yes, the prettiest babies to ever baby." Brittany adds with a straight face and Kurt snickers.

"This is simply wonderful!" He says and throws some glitter in the air. Santana coughs.

"Where the hell did you get glitter, Porcelain?" She asks and he shrugs.

"I always have some in my pocket." He says, not caring about the fact that his gym shorts don't _have_ pockets. He throws some more.

"Stop throwing glitter at me!" Santana scowls and they laugh. She crosses her arms.

"Come on, Fairy boy; let's see if we can get you to climb that rope." She says and Brittany nods with a grin. Kurt scowls.

"If it was meant to be climbed, it would come with an escalator!"

* * *

Meanwhile, you and Quinn are driving in your car with the roof down, radio volume turned up. Summer tunes blast through the subwoofers, the wind is blowing through your hair, and Quinn is with you. A perfect day.

You sing along to the radio at the top of the lungs, laughing. You take your eyes off the road for a second and take in Quinn – her dorky glasses and beautiful golden hair, her hazel eyes closed in enjoyment and relaxation. She's perfect.

You smile.

Half an hour passes, and you're still driving, already far from Lima. Quinn's settled into the seat beside you, simply listening to music and humming along.

She's breathtaking and you can actually feel something snapping and you slow the car down to a stop, in the middle of nowhere, with just the road in front of you. She opens her eyes slowly and looks at you curiously, waiting for you to speak.

You take a deep breath.

"There's something I have to tell you, Quinn." She straightens in her seat and takes off her seatbelt.

"Okay, I'm listening." She says and you clear your throat.

"I... You see, I have... There's been a... What I want to tell you is..." You sigh and a tired grin plays on your lips. "I'm sorry. My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations." You say and she chuckles at your John Green reference.

"What I want to say is... I like you Quinn. As something more than a friend. I... It happened over time and I just fell in lo-like, fell in...like with you and I just... I couldn't stay silent anymore." You finally stutter out and then there's silence.

Quinn's looking at you with an indecipherable look on her face and you're just waiting for her to say something. She opens her mouth and...

"Finally."

You stare.

"Seriously? That's all you have to say?" You say and she laughs.

"Rach, I've been waiting for you to say something for the last two months. I mean, yes, I could've said something as well, but I was afraid you didn't feel the same way because you're a bit hard to read. You're an affectionate person with everyone, so I was afraid I was looking too much into it. But I like you, Rach. I would like to try this out, if you want." Quinn says and you laugh, relief flooding your veins.

She feels the same. She feels the same!

"I-I'm not going to lie to you, Quinn. It's not going to be easy. I'm not perfect, and I'm going to screw up more than a few times but I..." You trail off when she chuckles.

"I just want someone who won't get annoyed when I text them six times or in all caps. Someone I can go on long drives with and can sing along to the radio with. Someone I could eat pizza with at two in the morning." She pauses. "Someone who chooses me every day and never thinks twice about it. You're that person for me, Rachel. And I would like to be that person for you too, if you'll let me." Quinn says and looks at you.

You smile.

"Yes. Yes to everything." You say and finally lean over and kiss her.

It's perfect.

Her lips are soft and you can taste her cherry lip gloss and then she tilts her head a bit and it's heavenly. Your hands cup her cheeks and she smiles into the kiss, making you smile too.

You part a few seconds later.

"Quinn Fabray, will you be my girlfriend?" You ask and she grins. "Well, let me think about it...Yes, you dork." She says and you laugh.

"Well then, would you do me the honour and go on a date with me?" You ask and she smiles.

"Hell yes."

"Awesome. I'll pick you up at 7?"

"Sounds good." She says and you smile.

"Hey Rach?" Quinn asks after a few seconds.

"Yes, Quinn?" You respond.

"It's been over a minute since you kissed me." Quinn says and you chuckle. "Far too long if you ask me." You respond and she grins wickedly.

"I agree. I think you should remedy that."

You smirk and capture her lips with yours.

* * *

You've been nervous all day.

You've planned the date, called all the necessary numbers, pulled some strings and the date's planned. All you need to do is show up.

At quarter to six you take a long shower, shampooing your hair three times, and using at least three different hair products on it. Finally, you step out and blow-dry your hair, taking at least ten minutes to manhandle it into something resembling control. At 6:30 you dress in fitting slacks, a crisp white oxford shirt with rolled up sleeves, opened vest and a black skinny tie because tonight you need to be dressed to the nines.

At 6:45 you check if everything you need is in the car. At 6:50 you're pulling up at the curb in front of Fabray mansion. And at 7 on the dot you're knocking at the door with a bouquet of gardenias in your hand.

Quinn opens the door and you forgot to breathe when you see what she's wearing. A white summer dress with white ballet flats and a jean jacket over it. Her hair's in a braid over her shoulder with a light blue ribbon holding it together. She looks a lot like the first time you saw her when she was playing the piano. She has a bashful smile on her lips and a slight rosy glow to her cheeks as she looks at you with her hazel eyes practically glowing.

You finally regain motor function and clear your throat.

"Quinn you...you look beautiful. I mean not that you don't always look beautiful, because you do, tonight you're just beautifuller and I know that's not a word but um...hi?" You stutter out and she laughs. You smile and slowly move your hand from behind the back, presenting her with the flowers. She smiles at the sight of them.

"Thank you, they're beautiful. Let me just put them in some water and then we'll go, okay?" You smile and nod and she moves into the house. You hear a few words exchanged between her and Judy and then she's stepping back out of the door.

"Shall we?" You say and offer your hand. She smiles and takes it. You escort her to your car, opening the door for her and helping her inside.

"Who says chivalry is dead?" She chuckles and you grin.

"So where are we going?" Quinn asks after you start driving. You grin mysteriously.

"It's a surprise." She pouts.

"Fine, don't tell me." She says and you snicker. "I won't." She huffs.

You turn on the radio and slowly inch your hand towards hers and finally you grab it and lace your fingers together. She bites her lip and smiles.

After driving for a while, you finally stop and Quinn squeals and jumps in her seat a bit when she sees where you are, and you chuckle at her excitement.

"A drive-in? Rach I thought there aren't any working ones in Ohio." She says and you grin.

"There's this one, and the owner is an old friend of my fathers so he owed them. I called in a favour, you'll see." You say and she smiles.

A few minutes later, the movie starts and she squeals again.

"Oh my God, _Casablanca_? I haven't watched that in ages. This is so awesome!" She says and you laugh.

"Only the best for the best." You say and kiss her hand. She giggles.

"Why, aren't you charming?" Quinn says and you laugh. "Yep." You respond, popping the 'p'.

The movie plays on, but all you can focus on is her, with her glowing expression and concentrated face as she focuses on the film. She takes your breath away.

Once the film is done, she turns to you.

"That was beautiful, Rach. Thank you." She says and you smile. "That's not all, Quinn." She looks at you with a raised eyebrow. "There's more?" She asks and you nod.

Pulling out of the drive-in, you thank the owner on the way out and he gives you thumbs up. You chuckle and shake your head but wave at him as you drive away. You drive for a while before you stop your car near the lake. Quinn looks at you. You smile shyly.

"I was hoping you'd like a picnic on the lakeshore?" You say and she smiles a toothy smile.

"I love it."

You help her get out of the car and then quickly grab the basket from the trunk and a blanket from the back seat.

You take her hand and guide her to the sand, placing the blanket on the ground and the basket on it. You sit down and she follows suit, and you take off your shoes and socks, leaving you barefoot. She chuckles but does the same.

You take out sandwiches and sodas from the basket and Quinn laughs.

"You really know how to charm a girl, huh?" She asks and you laugh. "Kinda."

You talk all night. When you take out chocolate covered strawberries from the basket, she leans over and kisses you on the cheek, saying those are her favourites. (You already know it.) There's music playing in the background from your iPod, a perfect background noise while you talk.

You take a strawberry and bring it to Quinn's mouth, watching her bite it. She smiles once she chews it.

"You are perfect." You let it slip and she chuckles.

"Hardly. But thanks." You frown.

"You are. You think there are imperfections but those are just the things I love about you." You say and she ducks her head. Moonlight's shining on her, giving her an angelic glow and you wonder how can someone so perfect love someone like you, but you're glad she does.

Once the strawberries are eaten, you stand up and extend your hand. "Come walk with me." You say, and she takes your hand. You help her up, lace your fingers and walk on the beach. The sand is soft beneath your feet and the smell of nature is all around you, but you only have eyes for Quinn. She's looking up at you with those beautiful hazel eyes of hers, and you feel like swooning.

You can't resist and place a soft kiss on her lips. She kisses back and you stand there for a while, just kissing. When you part, she's smiling.

Guiding her back to the blanket, you tell her to wait for a second and you take your iPod, scrolling through the songs before you find the one. Pressing _play_, you turn up the volume and place it on the basket, letting the soft notes play as you straighten your back and move to Quinn. You extend your hand.

"Would you like to dance, milady?" You ask and she giggles.

"Why yes, kind lady, I would." She takes your hand and even though she's higher, you lead. She follows you perfectly as if this was choreographed, and you spin and twirl around, her joyous laughter filling the air. The song ends just as you pull her close to you. You sway without the music, just loving the feeling of having her in your arms.

Then you kiss her, softly and gently, but in such a way that you're pretty sure you'll both remember this kiss for a long while.

You part and lean her forehead on hers, gazing into her eyes. Quinn smiles and pecks you, before pulling you down onto the blanket. You lie down next to her, still holding her hand, and then you just stargaze for a while. You point out constellations and tell her a few stories about them. (Stars are kind of your thing.)

She starts nodding off somewhere around midnight, so you gently kiss her on the cheek and help her up, helping her into your car. You collect the food and the blanket and put it all in the trunk. You drive her back home, and give her a goodnight kiss on her doorstep.

You feel like you'll burst with happiness because the night was perfect, the atmosphere was perfect... Quinn is perfect.

* * *

Not much changes. Quinn still sends you quirky texts at random times with stuff like _"do you think celebrities just have each other's phone numbers and like taylor swift will just text zac efron and be like 'dude i want a mac and cheese so badly rn lol' like i dunno do you think they do this"_ and she still sometimes calls you at three in the morning to tell you about the book she _just_ finished and how awesome it is. And she still laughs when you tell her stuff like that time you and your friends were banned from IKEA because "apparently, it's not okay to hide in a wardrobe and then when someone is passing by to jump out and yell 'For Narnia!'".

She comes out to her mother and the guy she's been dating for a while, John, a week after your date. Her mother tells her she needs a moment and exits the room with John at her side. You hear their hushed voices coming from the kitchen.

"Quinn can't stay your little girl forever, Jude." John remarks and you know Judy's probably more upset with the fact that Quinn didn't tell her she had a crush on you than with the fact that she's gay.

"I know." You hear Judy sigh dejectedly. "But I kinda hoped she'd wait until she was twenty-two...twenty-four...maybe fifty-five." You hear John chuckling.

They exit the kitchen a minute later and you all just hug it out. Of course, Judy then implements the open door policy and you and Quinn groan as the parents chuckle.

Your parents take it in a stride, only telling you to keep the door open (another groan) when Quinn's around.

In school, you take a few insults from homophobic jocks but that stops after Mike, Sam and Puck threaten to punch their skulls in and Santana tells them that she has razor blades all up in her hair and that she's not afraid to cut a bitch.

Finn's a little confused and angry at first because his ex-girlfriend is apparently a lesbian now and it doesn't make sense to him, but after a few quips from you and Santana, he takes a hint and backs off.

The Glee club takes Nationals by a storm in senior year and you're in the first row, always, looking adoringly at Quinn the whole time.

The Cheerios and the jocks back off after that and it's a peaceful senior year.

And now it's summer after, and you're going to NYADA and Quinn's going to Yale in September. You're glad that New Haven is only a train ride away from you, which Quinn confirms when she gives you a Metro North pass from New York to New Haven. You kiss the daylights out of her when she does and then twirl her happily.

You're happy with where you are now.

* * *

College isn't easy. You fight sometimes, and once you even break up for two weeks. You always make up, one way or another. _We're just meant to be together_, you often think when you're snuggled up on the couch of your small apartment watching _Imagine Me & You_, eating popcorn and cuddling.

You stayed friends with Santana, Brittany, Kurt, Blaine, Sam and Mike. Sam and Mike are in L.A. though, taking it up by a storm – Mike's a professional dancer with his own dance studio, and Sam's in a popular boy band. They visit whenever they can and so do you, and you always keep in touch.

You get your first larger role on Broadway in your final year of college. You're playing Fanny Brice in a revival of 'Funny Girl' and after that, your career takes off. You star in "Wicked" as Elphaba, and a few more plays and musicals. You try out your talent on the movie screen, but your love was always Broadway, so you always come back to it.

Quinn becomes a successful writer with several bestselling novels immediately after college. You're always by her side, and after the rough time in college, you're inseparable. Santana becomes a scarily good lawyer, becoming well known in the business world. Brittany owns a dancing studio and after a tour with Beyoncé, she goes back to teaching dance classes.

Kurt is a fashion designer, rather known in fashion industry. His collections rival the sales of those of Gucci, Armani and many other famous designers.

All in all, you're all comfortable with where you are at the moment.

It's Quinn's twenty-fourth birthday and she insisted on not doing anything special. She wanted a small gathering, so you called Kurt, Blaine, Santana and Brittany into your (now larger) apartment, where you had dinner (pizza) and are now watching movies (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). Kurt's hilarious quips make everything funnier.

_« Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of Hogwarts Four! » _TeenageTom Riddle hisses out on the screen.

Kurt scoffs. "He really wasn't, you know. Everyone knows that Helga was by far the best in a brawl."

You all laugh and Blaine gives him a kiss on the cheek. You sigh and whisper into Quinn's ear.

"Come with me, honey." You say and she gives you a curious look but stands up nonetheless and follows you into the bedroom.

"What is it Rach?" She asks as you enter the room and close the door behind you. You smile.

"Everything's fine, I promise. There's something I wanted to ask you." You say and she raises an eyebrow.

"You see, for the last seven years, give or take, we've been in a committed relationship. You've been by my side, taking all of my crap and still remaining with me even though any sane person would've broken up with me after all of my tantrums and idiotic arguments. We went through a lot.

"The first time we made love, I woke up that morning and I saw you, lying next to me. And I hoped that the rest of my mornings can be like that one – with you breathing softly in a deep sleep, so hushed, so sweet, so perfect, as innocent as you will ever look on my left side, lying on the white sheets as if you were the angel I had been searching for my entire life. And I thought to myself _I have found you. My god, I have found you_.

"The first time I saw you, you were playing piano in the auditorium of McKinley High. I was hiding backstage because I was afraid I'd disrupt you while you were playing. I think I fell in love the second I saw you. And afterwards, I thought _This girl is a puzzle, a mystery I'd like to solve_. But you, Quinn Fabray, are so much more than that. You're the yin to my yang, the Beauty to my Beast, the star and the moon to my sky. You make me...complete." You say and Quinn's crying by now, holding a hand over her mouth. You smile at her and get down on one knee, taking out a small box from your pocket.

"So, Quinn Fabray, will you do me the greatest honour of my life and...marry me?" You say, opening the box to reveal a simple diamond ring, and Quinn starts sobbing even more. You stay kneeling, nervous, until she nods and sobs out a happy 'yes'.

"Yeah?" You ask, getting up, and she laughs a teary laugh. "Yes, you lovable, adorable idiot, you." Quinn says and kisses you deeply, letting your tongues dance the dance they have a million times before. You part and grin so wide your cheeks hurt, and take out the ring from the box, putting it on her finger. You kiss her once more, before wiping her tears and taking her hand.

You exit the bedroom together, hand in hand, only to find Santana, Brittany, Kurt and Blaine in front of it, with grins on their faces. Santana is, surprisingly, the only one who's crying.

"That...That was sappy as fuck, Berry. It was beautiful!" She sobs into Brittany's shoulder before she composes herself and hugs you both, congratulating you. The rest of them follow.

"Ignoring the fact that you were listening in, thank you." Quinn says and you all laugh.

You spent the night celebrating.

* * *

The wedding goes off without a hitch.

You and Quinn couldn't agree if both of you should wear dresses, or if one of you should wear a suit. In the end, you decided that you'll wear a suit and Quinn a dress.

She looks stunning.

The wedding reception is beautiful and _crowded_. Everybody you've ever known comes to the wedding – from your former classmates from Lima, to several famous people. You nearly pass out when Barbra Streisand stops by. Beth's adoptive parents also come – Quinn invited them. Beth's almost nine and way too happy to see her birth mother again, especially at a wedding. She looks so much like Quinn.

Judy was a sobbing mess by the end of the ceremony.

You and Quinn share the first dance to the song you danced all those years before on your first date.

It's one of the most memorable days of your life.

* * *

"Quinn, honey, are you in there?" You say as you enter the apartment. Your golden lab, Charlie, comes rushing in from the bedroom. You laugh and pet him as he licks your hand. Quinn exits the bedroom a few minutes later, softly closing the door behind her. She takes off her glasses and rubs her eyes.

"Shhh, they're asleep." She says and kisses you softly in welcome.

Several months after the wedding, you and Quinn decided to try for a baby. A month later, after several visits to the multiple doctors and after carefully looking for just the right donor, the procedure was performed on Quinn, who insisted that she be the one to carry the baby. You learned not to mess with Quinn during pregnancy because pregnant women may not move very fast, but they have surprisingly strong swats and hits. "You don't mess with pregnancy cravings, during or after pregnancy. Bitches be vicious." Kurt said one day, seeing your exhausted face after a trip to McDonalds with Quinn at three in the morning.

Nine months later – she gave birth to beautiful twins – Samuel Berry-Fabray and Alice Berry-Fabray.

"Hmmm, hi." You murmur against her lips. She smiles.

"Hi back." Quinn says and kisses you again. You end up kissing on the couch for half an hour.

After you're done with the make out session, you and Quinn snuggle close together.

"Who would've thought life would turn out this way for us?" Quinn murmurs and you rub her back.

"I don't know, honey, but I'm pretty glad it did." You chuckle and you can feel Quinn smiling into your neck.

"So am I, Rach. So am I."

Yeah, it turned out a bit weird. But you wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

_**AN: So here it is, finally the end.**_

_**Anyway, please **__**READ**__** this. **_

_**I was wondering if any of you would be interested in reading a Harry Potter and Glee crossover. It would be Faberry, of course. It would be placed into the same time like in the books, and it would have eight chapters – one for each book, and one for the epilogue. If you're interested, you can tell me in the reviews.**_

_**So that's it, I hope you liked this story, and if you did, drop a **__**review**__** in that lil' box underneath this. Thanks and see you next time :)**_


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